


Between Us

by MayLovelies



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Enemies to Friends, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 15:17:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19337167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayLovelies/pseuds/MayLovelies
Summary: When Lorenzo's affair is brought to light he loses his title, bank and family love. Shortly after he is banished from Florence. A year later when he has resigned to dying in the street as a drunkard, he is saved by the person he least expects,





	Between Us

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, i know im the only person in the fandom who ships them lol. time to make self indulgent fics for myself.

Lorenzo never blamed Lucrezia for not speaking up. 

           

Her life, outside of her affair with Lorenzo was unhappy and the passion the two bore was sacred yet, it was foolish. Both were aware of the risk they took, running to each other every night and now, Lorenzo suffered for it. When Ardighelli discovered of the affair, "furious" could not quite describe how he felt that night. 

 

The days, weeks and months following all fell to ash between the lovers and after that ordeal, Lorenzo never saw Lucrezia again. Ardighelli, though not a man of nobility, had influence and power and flaunting about Lorenzo's sins of adultery all but destroyed him.  As the Medici legacy, the money, the love of the people and even his family was laid to waste, Lorenzo had no home in Florence. 

 

By means that Lorenzo once shamed others for, he attempted to survive. Yet, living with no money, love of his family or place to stay—survival was easier thought than achieved. He grew up in a place of privilege, with food always at his reach and shelter above his head and now, so quickly he’d lost all of that.

           

Now almost a year later, Lorenzo found himself in a far off land, his pockets empty ; his last coin spent on wine and a place to live. That "place to live" had, after months of struggle and pissing off greedy landlords, resulted in this very alley he sat in now. 

 

With winter around the corner and the air falling crisp, Lorenzo counted only a few days left for him. He could not survive snow with his declining health. He'd end up a frozen, pale corpse on the street. The name Lorenzo Medici shamed and remembered as nothing but an adulterer.  As he took a rattled breath, his eyes rested toward some children playing a few feet ahead of him. He must have been deep in thought to not have heard them enter his small liminal space. 

Regardless, he gave them the kindest smile he could possibly muster. In response, the kids startled, turned and ran the other direction. Lorenzo's shoulders then slumped, as a cold chill filled the ally. To be rejected by children, so close to death was perhaps the worst pain he'd felt through this year long ordeal. It made him crave death even more. 

 

                                                            OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

Since he was a child, Salviati always found himself walking about at night or in the evening, when the sun was low. Whether it be in Rome, Florence or Pisa he always left his residence to be alone. 

 

It helped him clear his mind. In Florence, leaving the house at night was the one way he could get away from Jacopo. Francesco Pazzi was not Jacopo’s only victim, and Salviati from a young age was no stranger to the sting of Jacopo’s hand. He had made a habit of leaving the Pazzi residence at night henceforth. Now years later in Rome, that habit had not worn off and despite the frigid temperatures, Salviati found himself down a familiar road way on his way around the city.

Occasionally on that walk, children playing in the streets would ram into him, apologizing when they realized just who he was. However, he wasn't anyone to be afraid of if you were a child. It was no secret that Savliati was kind to children and had a soft spot for them. Given how morbid his past was, being a parent was something that he could never have yet he always desired children of his own. The constant scowl he wore on his face reserved for men whom he hated, softened when he saw the children and as soon as they’d run into them, they’d be on their way after a sincere apology.

As the air grew colder however, he realized that it was soon time to go home. A bishop with a fever was no help to anyone and he had many things to do before he slept. 

 

Coming upon a familiar alley, Salviati decided to cut through as it would get him home faster. As he was a tall person, looking down as he walked wasn't something he was accustomed too (no matter how many kids ran into him). Yet, that day it proved and error, as not half way into the alley his foot made contact with something large and as he was not able to keep his balance, he fell. It was no graceful fall, for a man of his height hit the ground rather hard.  

Annoyed, he quickly stood to his feet turning to see just what was large enough and hard enough to knock him over. He rolled his eyes when he made out the figure of a man sitting against the alley wall. 

"So you didn't bother to move when you saw someone walking by." Salviati chided. "Perhaps your manners were learned in a barn, or on the street--"

"Perhaps if it was a more virtuous person walking down the alley way, I would have moved." The voice, raspy yet clear enough to be recognizable caught Salviati off guard. His eyes narrowed, as he approached the hunched figure and nearly gasped when he saw those all too familiar, piercing blue eyes. 

"Medici?" 

"Not so much anymore." Lorenzo responded, his voice broken from the cold. "The name holds no meaning to me."

Salviati paused for a while, memories of the rumors of Lorenzo's downfall filling his mind. It wasn't too long ago when he discovered those rumors were true. Lorenzo was an adulterer and exiled from Florence after losing support. By this time, the Medici bank was all but destroyed. That is what Salviati had heard at least. 

"So, through trials of shame and mishaps you've found yourself on the streets of Rome." Salviati grinned. "How does it feel to lose everything? And I mean everything. No house, no money...your family's love--gone." Salviati knelt down, eye level with Lorenzo. 

Lorenzo shifted, sitting up a bit more. "I don't feel anything." He admitted. His eyes empty and his gaze downward. "So if you've come to gloat about it...then you'll find yourself disappointed."

He let out a dry cough, catching Salviati off guard. The space between them, though small was tense. Yet, there was no anger in Lorenzo’s eyes. If anything, he looked sad, as if he’d realized that no amount of silver tongued words would fix the pitiful situation he’d landed himself in.

It was then that Salviati returned to his full height; his shoulders slumped. There was a feeling of satisfaction in his heart as he knew that finally, the Medici could understand how he and his father felt. Lorenzo and his family had already suffered to the fullest extent possible and for that, Salviati was happy.

Coming back to himself, he felt a cold chill, causing him to tighten his cloak around himself. "The temperature is dropping." He off-handedly said, receiving a chuckle from Lorenzo. 

"I'll be dead by the morning." Lorenzo muttered. "I bet that will make you, Jacopo and Francesco happy."

"Jacopo perhaps. I could care less." Salviati shrugged. "You have died in everything but action. I'll leave the storm to finish you off." He turned on his heel, and odd feeling in his chest as he prepared to leave the alley

"And if the storm does not kill me, then I'll finish the deed myself." The words were sharp, filled with intent yet at the same time misery.

It was then, Salviati stopped.

If perhaps he was a normal man, then he would have left. The threat of Lorenzo potentially taking his own life would bring music to his ears. However, he wasn’t a normal man—how could he be? To be abused as a child so quickly after the tragic deaths of his parents left him scarred. And because of that trauma, the threat of someone taking their own life did not sit well with him. Salviati turned back and just observed how lost Lorenzo looked. How empty his gaze was as he stared uncaringly toward Salviati's feet. He was a shell of who he used to be. The once vibrant banker in Florence now withered.

This hit far too close to home for Salviati because, despite how much he'd pushed the memory of her suicide to the back of his head, Lorenzo reminded him far too much of his mother. The deterioration, the blankness...the declaration of suicide like it was something simple…and then her death. It was as if he was witnessing all of that again.

Against Salviati's better judgement, he turned fully on his heel to return to Lorenzo.

"Up, get up." He extended his hand. "If you're meant to die, then at least let it be with some dignity and not as a drunkard in the street."

Lorenzo stared for a while, his eyebrow raising in curiosity. "You're helping me?" 

"I'm giving you a place to stay--for a night and then you can be on your own." He exhaled. "As much as I despise you, you are nothing to me now. Your presence brings no threat or danger to me nor my family. You are as good as dead whether the storm kills you or not." Salviati smiled. "I am also a priest after all, it is my job to care for useless people."

 

"Seeing as you are determined in your conviction, in addition to shaming me, I will...I'll come with you. For a night."

"For a night." 

 

Inwardly, Salviati was screaming. 

 

Why in the world would he lend help to Lorenzo Medici? Even as a drunkard, he still  _was_ a danger and if Jacopo found this out, well he'd kill them both. Yet, Salviati simply couldn't ignore the fact that there was a man dying in the street, nor that he threatened to take his own life. Perhaps if he wasn't a broken man that was still haunted by the demons of his childhood, it would be easier for him to let his literal nemesis take his own life. But things were different. 

 

Lorenzo took his hand and stood to his feet.  

 

Salviati quickly realized how thin, tired and weak Lorenzo was yet he chose to ignore that as he looked away.

 

"Let's go. The storm will be here soon."


End file.
